B – 106 Examining Health Numeracy and Mental Flexibility as Predictors of Self-Reported Health Anxiety in Presurgical Transplant Candidates

Abstract Objective Research has established the importance of assessing health numeracy, executive functioning, and self-reported health anxiety (SRHA) in transplant candidates due to implications for medical adherence. However, the relationship between these variables is poorly understood. This study examined the roles of health numeracy and mental flexibility as potential predictors of SRHA. Method The sample included 28 presurgical transplant candidates (Mage=53.19; SD=11.72; Meducation=11.71; SD=2.24; 61% female, 61% Black, 29% White, 11% Hispanic) referred for neuropsychological evaluation to inform kidney or liver transplant candidacy. Linear regression analyzed correlations between health numeracy (Numeracy Understanding in Medicine Instrument [NUMI]), mental flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Perseverative Errors [WCST PE]), and SRHA (Short Health Anxiety Inventory [SHAI-18] scales including fear of developing serious illness [Main], fear of negative consequences [FNC], and sum [Total]). Results Marginal positive correlations were found between SHAI-18 FNC and NUMI (r=.319, p=.098), and SHAI-18 FNC and WCST PE (r=.25, p=0.154). WCST PE did not significantly add to NUMI predictive power indicating that both measures predict unique information based on NUMI and WCST PE partial (.288, .269) and part (.274, .255) correlations. Conclusion Positive trending associations suggest patients with better health numeracy and mental flexibility may experience more FNC in transplant candidates. Notably, these constructs were unrelated to fear of serious illness or overall SRHA. Limitations include the convenience sample of patients referred for neuropsychological evaluation and exclusion of individuals unable to complete measures of interest. Future research may benefit from exploring this trend with larger samples and inclusion of non-missing-at-random cases.